Gasbags or airbags can be sheathed and integrated into various hollow spaces on a motor vehicle, from which they must expand as rapidly as possible when needed, so as to establish a buffer between hard sections of the motor vehicle body and persons that might need to be protected, in particular passengers inside the vehicle or pedestrians. Such a gasbag is exposed to significant mechanical loads not just at the moment where it cushions a person in an expanded state, but conceivably even before that point, e.g., when the expanding gasbag has to force its way out of its installation space into the open through a narrow opening, during which it is exposed to potentially significant friction at the edges of the opening. In particular given a gasbag for protecting pedestrians, strong frictional loads can also arise when it is pressed against the roadway during its expansion or even only after cushioning a pedestrian. If the frictional load tears open the gasbag, it becomes ineffective.
It is at least object to improve the operational reliability of such a gasbag. In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.